The Spirit Dogcatcher

I had recently graduated from college and was still living with my
parents at this time. I had a job that required that I work late hours, so I
would take my dog, Sheamus (a black lab mix) out for walks when I got home.
The neighborhood they live in is very safe and I was never afraid to take
the dog out alone at night.

My parents live right next to a set of train tracks and a large
cemetery, but as children, my brother and sisters along with our neighbors
would sled and play in the cemetery, so I was never frightened to go in
there. I just thought it was a peaceful place to be.

On one particular night (it was about 2 a.m.) in late November, it
was a very cold and brightly moonlit night. I was taking Sheamus for a walk
and had just gotten to the street that I usually walked down (which is right
next to the train tracks and cemetery), and somehow I lost grip of his
leash. Sheamus always thinks it's funny to be chased, it's like a game for
him to run away, so that's just what he did! I was chasing him and he kept
running for about a half hour, and I was very frustrated, cold, and tired
and was nearly crying at this point because I was afraid I would never catch
him. Eventually, he crossed the railroad tracks and ran into the cemetery
(through a hole in the fence that has been there ever since I can remember).
Although I am not afraid of the cemetery, this frustrated me even further
because it meant he could run around freely in the huge cemetery and then I
didn't know if I would ever be able to catch him.

At this point, I was crying and calling for him, and I ducked through
the hole in the fence, and went into the cemetery. I was walking around
calling for my dog but I couldn't see him anywhere. I was getting really
worried because I couldn't find him and I was sure he had run to the other
side of the cemetery. I was still crying and calling his name.

Suddenly, I could hear him whimpering close by in the hedge near the
fence. I was so relieved to have found him and I ran over to where he was.
He was sitting there shaking and whimpering a little bit, and his leash was
tangled up on a high branch. I was bewildered by this and at the same time
that I went to untangle his leash, I began to smell a very strong sent of
man's cologne. It was very very distinct, and smelled good. I looked around
to see if there was a cologne bottle or something that would cause this
smell, but there was nothing, and it was all around me.

I never felt scared, I felt calm and it suddenly occurred to me that
a spirit had helped me to catch my dog. I remember instantly thinking that
it was probably an old black gentleman (I don't know why I thought that but
I did). There is no way that the leash could have flown up into the high
branches that it was tangled in, unless someone put it there. I felt calm
and stopped crying, I said thank you several times out loud, and took his
leash and went home.